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The Koan

Texts and Contexts in Zen Buddhism

Steven Heine editor Dale S Wright editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc

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The Koan cover

Koans are enigmatic spiritual formulas used for religious training in the Zen Buddhist tradition. This innovative religious practice is one of the most distinctive elements of this tradition, which originated in medieval China and spread to Japan and Korea. Perhaps no dimension of Asian religous has attracted so much interest in the West, and its influence is apparent from beat poetry to deconstructive literary critisism. The essays collected in this volume, all previously unpublished, argue that our understanding of the koan tradition has been severely limited. The authors try to undermine stereotypes and problematic interpretations by examining previously unrecognized factors in the formation of the tradition, and by highlighting the rich complexity and remarkable diversity of koan practice and literature.

Those with a serious interest in the history of Zen Buddhism will find the essays collected here an invaluable resource ... appropriate for both undergraduate and graduate libraries. * Religious Studies Review *

ISBN: 9780195117493

Dimensions: 150mm x 234mm x 25mm

Weight: 479g

336 pages